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A cover writes history – or do we rewrite it? Historic moments shape our collective memory. But what if that memory is redesigned – with AI?
An AI creation. Instead of war, now science – Albert Einstein, staged before a groundbreaking discovery.
The first issue of the Schweizer Illustrierte from 1911: it shows an image from the war – a time document capturing the harshness and reality of that era.
Same aesthetics, same form — but a completely different narrative.
AI artist Basil Stücheli shows how a deceptively real fake photo is created from the original image from Silvan Bohrer's Ringier Archive and why this can be dangerous.
If historical documents can be manipulated, what still counts as “evidence”?
Fakes can distort the perspective of entire generations.
Between education and propaganda, history is restaged.
Archive images are already being used today to feed AI training data — with the risk that fakes will flow back as sources.
(Source: MIT Technology Review, 2023)
Algorithms push content that triggers emotions – regardless of whether it is historically accurate or not.
(Source: MDPI, 2020)
Does the image really come from a verified archive?
Clothing, typography, style – do they match the year?
Scenes that are “too perfectly” staged are suspicious.
Scenes that are “too perfectly” staged are suspicious.
“A cover can document history. Or rewrite history. ”
Welcome to WHAT THE FAKE — discover more pairs of pictures, facts and tips
